Grain Marketing is Simple (it’s just not easy)

The 3rd Edition is now available!

Barney Binless and Hank Holder are back and hoping that the third time’s a charm.

Why a 3rd Edition? How about

  1. 30+ years of data provide a deeper look at grain marketing strategies.
  2. The analysis now features Iowa average prices.
  3. Biofuel production is expanding rapidly, and the 3rd Edition considers the need for a new approach to marketing.
  4. Uncle Buck and Covered Cal are new characters who allow us to explore more options-based pricing strategies.
  5. Tammy and Tommy Twostep are also new, and they examine the value of marketing from start to finish.

This is not a textbook – a textbook would not present grain marketing plans with celebrity producers like May Sellers and Terry Timer or explore the value of options with Peter Paperfarmer. My characters help illustrate the simple – but not easy – aspects of marketing.

This book is a must-have resource for grain producers and ag professionals with a serious interest in grain markets and pricing strategies.

About the book

The book is divided into five major parts:

 

  1. Five Common Mistakes in Grain Marketing
  2. Pre-Harvest Marketing Plans
  3. Post-Harvest Marketing Plans
  4. Pricing Tools
  5. Pulling it Together
You will learn

 

  • A different approach to marketing grain
  • Five common mistakes in marketing
  • How to write a pre-harvest marketing plan
  • Price objectives and decision dates in a marketing plan
  • Seasonal price patterns before harvest
  • How to incorporate technical trading tools into your marketing plan
  • How to size-up the market and write a post-harvest marketing plan
  • Cash price seasonal patterns after harvest
  • Carrying charges and selling the carry
  • Price and time driven exit strategies
  • Fixed-price pricing tools
  • Minimum-price pricing tools
  • How to select the right pricing tool, before and after harvest
  • How to combine your pre- and post-harvest marketing efforts
  • …and much more!

About the author

Edward Usset serves as a Grain Marketing Economist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.

Working with his colleagues at CFFM and in extension, Ed developed the award winning “Winning the Game” series of workshops. He manages Commodity Challenge, an online marketing education game that uses real-time cash and futures data. In addition, Ed is a regular contributor for Corn and Soybean Digest and Farm Futures, and he teaches “Commodity Markets” and “Futures and Options Markets” at the University.